He'll Earn His Black Belt on May 5, 2018! - Kyuki-Do Martial Arts of Elgin

Meet Kyle Diven,

Kyle began his martial arts career just over 4 years ago, at the age of 6. He’ll be 11 when he tests for 1st Dan and he’s come a long way! He’s competed in 4 tournaments, so far and participated in just about every academy activity possible.

When we first met, it was in January, right after a snow, on a Saturday morning. I was shoveling the sidewalk on Spring Street. I heard a noise and looked up to see Kyle and his Mom sliding down the sidewalk towards me. You couldn’t help but to immediately like this guy with his infectious smile. I found out later that Kyle processes data a bit differently and he tends to like his comfort zone. With tremendous support from his parents he’s been able to work through his anxieties to fully participate in all aspects of Kyuki-Do. While he claims he’s no hero, he stood up for a fellow student who was being bullied at school and paid for it! He believes in integrity and shows high morals in most of his decisions. He won’t give up, as evidenced by his board breaking at his Advancement Test!

There’s much more to Kyle than just the martial artist, we all know. He regularly volunteers at his church, participated in food drives, baked cookies for prisoners (maybe he ate one or two), visits with elderly residents at his great Grandma’s nursing home and shovels out the neighbors when it snows.

His diverse interests include video gaming (no surprise there), rock climbing and snow skiing (he’s very good). He loves Tomato Deluxe Soup but won’t eat raw tomatoes. His favorite color is turquoise and is considering a career in construction.

Finally, Kyle knows this is being written and I asked him what he wanted folks to know about Kyle Diven.,,,he response:

“Everyone should know that I worked very, very hard for this…”